September 30, 1894-- The North Church -- the Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church in North America--was formed in Elk Horn.

It was Inner Mission in theological emphasis, as was the Blair Synod--the Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church Association in America--formed in 1884.

The other Danish Lutheran group in the United States was the older Danish church--the Danish Evangelical Lutheran Churchin America--formed in this country in 1872, which was Grundtvigian in theological emphasis.

The Grundtvigians followed the teachings of Bishop N. F. S. Grundtvig of Denmark who died in 1872. Grundtvig attacked the rationalistic belief prevalent in the old Danish Church. The core of his teaching was that the Apostle's Creed was the essence of Christianity. He believed God speaks to man through the Bible but that Christ was the word and that therefore the creed containing the essence of the word was of greater value to the Christian than were the scriptures.

Thus the Grundtvigian believed the Bible contained the word of God while the Inter Mission preached the Bible was the word of God.

The North Church of Elk Horn was organized from the Society for Danish Evangelical Lutheran Mission among the Danish People in America (Mission Society). The Society had been formed by a group of twelve pastors and twelve laymen during the fall 1893 Danish Church convention at Racine, Wis.

Members of the Society were among those who refused to sign the Danish Church's new synodical constitution drafted in 1893 at Chicago and adopted by the Racine convention.

The convention had passed a motion that any pastor or congregation not subscribing to the constitution by Feb. 15 (1894) would no longer be in the synod.

Principals in the split from the U.S.-Danish Church were P. S. Vig of the Inner Mission, Thorvald Helvig of the Grundtvig group and Frederik Lange Grundtvig, youngest son of Bishop Grundtvig, who supported his father's teaching.

Church Buys School

1894--Pastor Anker sold the Elk Horn School for $5,000, to the newly - organized North Church for a theological seminary and preparatory school. He remained in charge of the high school. P. S. Vig was called as seminary teacher.

He had purchased the school in 1890 so he could add so-called normal college courses to the high school curriculum. The school became coeducational. Enrollment reached 100 plus.

Girls were given dormitory space above the school's dining and kitchen areas of the building "Frydenborg." Each kept her lamp filled from a kerosene barrel in the basement, brought in wood for the small stove, and carried water from the school's well. Lamps were out at 9 p.m.

Music Prof. Morgensen lived in "Gladehjemmet"--with the janitor, Chris (Thresher) Jensen--where piano and singing lessons were held.

A croquet court at the school was open to the girls only when the boys were not using it.

Pastor Anker started gymnastics for the men, who held special exhibitions to show their muscles and skills to the girls.

1891 -- Rasmus Hansen, congregation president in 1876-77 and 1884-86, was called again. Others after Niels Steffensen and construction of the church building were A. L. Boysen 1883, Nick Molgaard 1887, Boysen 1888-89, and Johan Johansen 1890.

1889-- Danish Mutual Fire Insurance grew from 1895's 670 policies and $921,538 in force, to 1899's 850 members and $1,462,277 in force.

OCT. 1, 1896 -- The North Church of Elk Horn and the Blair Synod merged as the United Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

The merger was approved in special convention at Minneapolis, Minn., with the Rev. O. Christiansen of the Blair Synod president and Pastor Rev. A. L. J. Soholm of the North Church vice president. Pastor P. S. Vig of the North Church was named to head the seminary, with seminary Prof. A. M. Andersen of the Blair Synold.

The merger was urged by many from both Inner Mission groups. The Blair Synod's Dansk Luthersk Kirkeblad and the North Church's Missionsbudet carried many articles discussing the probability.

MAY 1899 -- Pastor P. S. Vig repaced [sic replaced] P. L. C. Hansen who succeeded Kristian Anker in December 1897. Niels Olsen was named congregation president in 1898, succeeding Rasmus Hansen.

1895--Elk Horn was the core of a Danish settlement in Shelby and Audubon counties that included nearly 3,000 Danish-born and that many and more of Danish parentage.

H. F. Andrews said of the Danish pioneers:

" . . . Many at first purchased but forty acres -- usually paying down about $70 -- upon which they built a board sufficient to hold a bed, table and a few necessary household articles. The cooking stove was set up outside under a board shed, next to the lving room. Then they obtained a cheap team wagon and plow, a cow, an old sow and some chickens and proceeded to break out the farm."

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Transcribed by Cheryl Siebrass from Elk Horn 1868-1918, July, 2022, page 11.